The present invention relates to an improved bag seal, and more particularly relates to the type of seal typically used to close and seal the necks of cloth or other similar flexible bags which contain money, merchandise or the like.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,117,812 and 3,167,340 assigned to the assignee of the present invention disclose a type of prior art bag seal in common use. The bag seal includes a flexible strap or tape, made of polyethylene or other plastic, and a non-resilient ferrule or clinching element. The ferrule is formed or folded from a non-resilient material, such as bendable sheet steel or plastic, to assume the configuration of an elongated member having at one end a housing or sealing clinching portion and at the other end, an integral planar member or flag which may include integral prongs. Between the planar member and the housing is an integral tubular portion. Both the housing and the tubular portion may result from appropriately folding wing elements of a stamped non-resilient blank. A first end of the strap is inserted into the tubular portion of the ferrule. The tubular portion is then clinched, crimped or otherwise deformed about the first strap end to firmly attach and mount the strap to the ferrule. The housing defines a passage which is capable of receiving the second end of the strap and permits the strap to be slid or pulled there through.
The prior art seal also includes a plastic body or sealing block with a bore therethrough. The body or sealing block is preferably molded polyethylene or other material which is capable of being deformed and of retaining its deformed shape. The bore is capable of receiving therein the housing of the ferrule, with the strap-ferrule crimp connection and the planar member or flag being exterior to the body or sealing block.
The housing portion of the ferrule is inserted into the bore of the plastic body by the seal manufacturer. Subsequently, the free second end of the strap is wrapped around the neck of the bag by the end user and the second strap end is then passed through and then out of the passage of the housing. Since the housing and its passage are within the bore of the plastic body, the foregoing movement of the second strap end also moves it into and through the bore. The strap is then pulled tight to securely close the neck of the bag. Following this, clinching or crimping force is applied to the exterior of the plastic body to simultaneously deform the body and the inserted housing. The tightening of the strap and the clinching/crimping of the sealing block and the housing may be performed by the tool disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 3,911,970.
Theoretically, the deformation of the housing locks it to the strap and the conjoint deformation of the housing and the sealing block prevents removal of the housing from the sealing block. The prongs on the planar member, which are sandwiched between the strap and the neck of the bag, are positioned so as to dig into the neck of the bag to prevent the now-closed seal from being slid from such neck.
One of the wings which is folded to produce the tubular portion of the ferrule overlies the other wing. When the bag seal closes the neck of the bag, the overlapping wings face and lie next to the bag. Accordingly, access to the wings is quite restricted. Furthermore, the deformed sealing block surrounds the housing and thus the folded wings which form the housing, thereby restricting access thereto. An attempt to gain access to the housing, for purposes of unfolding its wings, requires cutting, deforming or penetrating the sealing block. Such cutting deformation or penetration provides a visual indication of the attempt.
In practice, interlopers typically do not attempt to uncrimp the connection between the first end of the strap and the tubular portion of the ferrule, because of the restricted access to the wings which make up the tubular portion. If, however, the tubular portion is attacked, since the crimp connection between the strap and the ferrule cannot be accurately reassembled, a visual indication is therefore provided that there has been an unauthorized removal or attempted removal of the seal from the bag. Instead, interlopers will usually attempt to separate the housing from the surrounding sealing block to thereby expose the housing.
A primary object of the present invention is to improve prior art bag seals to provide a visual indication that unauthorized removal or attempted removal of the seal from the bag by removal of the housing from the sealing block has occurred.